January 2, 2017

The moment we've been waiting for -- meeting our princess!

Back story: Up until the last minute, I wanted to have a normal delivery..that was the birth plan. I wanted to experience it all..the labor pains, the excruciating pain that all mothers have to go through to bring a human being to this earth.  My actual due date was January 11, so a month before the due date I have to go to my OB consult weekly for an ultrasound to see if the baby is in the right position to make the grand entrance. I remember a week before Christmas during my prenatal checkup my gynecologist told me that she would be on a 2-week Christmas vacation. My stress level went sky high because she knows I can give birth any time after Christmas. I was then told that if things did not go as planned, meaning if I have to give birth before she's back, that I will be in good hands with her colleague who also did one of my ultrasounds when she was not around. So that last week before Christmas she told me that the baby's position is oblique, which means that there's a high probability that she can not turn anymore on a head-first position because there is not much space in my uterus to move around with..which also means that it would likely be a C-section. Really??!! So first you're telling me you might not be there if I deliver before my due date, and second, that it would probably be a C-section. She might have seen my panic face that she consoled me with "things might still change the last minute, you'll never know." She scheduled me for Jan 2 early in the morning ultrasound to see if the baby moved to a head-first position, and if not, I just have to accept the fact that some things cannot always go as planned..

The night of January 1, we were early in bed because of our early appointment the next day, plus I was so tired from the new year's eve party with friends and we also went to my mother-in-law's on new year's day that I was just so ready to hit the sack as soon as we got home..I remember that night I was already feeling uncomfortable and here and there some contractions. I actually thought it was just Kassandra doing some somersault in my tummy trying to move and position herself head first so we can still go with the birth plan of normal delivery..yeah I was still hoping it would be like that..and the contractions were not on regular intervals yet so I did not think it was already the beginning of labor..Around 3 am when I woke up with this massive contraction. I remember my tummy feeling so hard and tight and it was so painful I can't breath. Almost the same time I was doing my breathing exercises to relax myself, my water broke! I shouted to Patrick "Sweetie it's time! my water just broke!" I remember him bolting out of the bed, went down to get himself ready while I was still in the room taking off the bed sheets and cleaning the floor!  We were able to get to the hospital a little after 4 a.m. We went straight to the emergency room. My contractions then was getting more and more intense and in closer intervals. I was then wheeled to the maternity department where they put me on monitors. Since I have appointment that day, I was already expected to be there, but now it's not just for a prenatal check. The ultrasound revealed that Kassandra is lying transverse, and because my water already broke, the only option to safely deliver the baby is through C-section.. and so it was...on 9:18 a.m. of that lovely Monday morning of January 2, 2017 to be exact, we saw our most precious baby girl. It was a day of love and celebration. A day of worship and thanksgiving to our Lord who blessed us with this most amazing gift!